Speaking to the Today’s Zaman daily, Turkish prosecutor denies list was result of an official investigation; directory includes 174 names identified using Facebook, Twitter accounts.

September 26, 2011

A Turkish public prosecutor said Monday that the Turkish IHH organization drew up a list – reportedly found through Facebook – of Israeli soldiers who were involved in the 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman reported on Monday.

Istanbul Deputy Public Prosecutor Ates Hasan Sozen denied reports that the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office asked the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) to identify the soldiers and prepare the list.

Reports in Turkish media claimed IHH compiled list of 174 soldiers, security officials who took part in raid on Gaza-bound ship, but closer glance reveals that names were recycled from previous lists, belong to soldiers who already completed military service during 2010 naval operation

In the interview, footage of which is available on CNN’s website, Erdogan said there were no accurate statistics about the number of Israelis killed in the conflict, suggesting up to “200” while he said “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were killed.”

In a Middle East wracked by coups d’état and civil insurrections, the Republic of Turkey credibly offers itself as a model thanks to its impressive economic growth, democratic system, political control of the military, and secular order.

But, in reality, Turkey may be, along with Iran, the most dangerous state of the region. Count the reasons:

Islamists without brakes: When four out of five of the Turkish chiefs of staff abruptly resigned on July 29, 2011, they signaled the effective end of the republic founded in 1923 by Kemal Atatürk. A second republic headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Islamist colleagues of the AK Party began that day. The military safely under their control, AKP ideologues can now pursue their ambitions to create an Islamic order.

Ankara asked Damascus to offer the Muslim Brotherhood government posts in exchange for Turkey’s support in ending rallies in Syria, an offer rejected by Bashar al-Assad, officials and diplomats said.

The plan, which would have required that at least a quarter of ministerial positions went to the currently banned organisation, was initially mooted over the summer.

“In June, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered, if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ensured between a quarter and a third of ministers in his government were members of the Muslim Brotherhood, to make a commitment to use all his influence to end the rebellion,” a Western diplomat told AFP.

“The head of the Syrian state refused such a proposal,” said the diplomat, who did not want to be named.

The Trouble With Turkey A nation that once aspired to be European now curries favor among Islamists

By Michael Rubin | October 3, 2011

“We stand together on the major issues that divide the world,” Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower declared in Ankara while preparing to depart Turkey, on a cold and windy day in December 1959. “And I can see no reason whatsoever that we shouldn’t be two of the sturdiest partners standing together always for freedom, security, and the pursuit of peace.”

It took almost a half century, but Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, has succeeded in ending that partnership. Certainly Turkey no longer stands for freedom. Like his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Erdogan roughs up and imprisons those who challenge him. In 2002, the year before Erdogan became prime minister, Turkey ranked 99th in the world in press freedom out of 139 nations rated by Reporters Without Borders. By 2010, it ranked 138th out of 178, barely nosing out Russia and finishing below even Zimbabwe. Nor can American officials any longer say that America’s relationship with Turkey bolsters national security. Just one year ago, the Turkish air force held secret war games with its Chinese counterparts without first informing the Pentagon. Erdogan has also deferred final approval of a new NATO anti-missile warning system. Meanwhile, Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s new intelligence chief, makes little secret of his preference for Tehran over Washington.

During a recent meeting in Cairo, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that secularism does not mean giving up religion, and called on Egyptians to adopt a secular constitution. “Do not be wary of secularism. I hope there will be a secular state in Egypt,” Erdogan said. Immediately, from Cairo to Saudi Arabia, there was a shocked reaction.

Secular circles had long ago expressed their concern that the AKP-led government in Turkey wanted to change the secular nature of the Turkish Republic. With Erdogan’s new, “revised” definitions of language, they may well be right.

The Saudi-owned paper Asharq Al-Awsat wrote that the Muslim Brotherhood had portrayed Erdogan as a “Muslim Caliph mounted upon his horse, commanding Muslim armies all across the world,” and had thought to hear some support for their dream of having Islamic Sharia Law as the only source of legislation. Instead, Erdogan trashed their hopes. “Picture this” wrote Asharq Al-Awsat: “a moment of utter silence where the cheers died down and eyes were wide open, only to be broken by a well-known, ‘moderate’ Brotherhood voice, namely Essam el-Eryan, who said: ‘We thank Erdogan and love Turkey, but he should not interfere in Egypt’s affairs. Secularism is not a solution for us. Turkey is free to adopt its own choice. The power of the Islamic civilization lies in its diversity’…among other loaded phrases.”

NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, expressed disquiet on Friday about tensions over natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean between a newly assertive Turkey and Cyprus, as well as Turkey’s strained relations with Israel, saying that they were both “a matter of concern.”

Mr. Rasmussen said he did not foresee the tension turning into conflict in the Mediterranean, and he praised Turkey as an indispensable member of NATO that could be “a bridge” between the West and the Arab countries now engaged in revolts.

If Obama were a poker player holding a full house, he’d fold to let the guy across the table with a pair of twos feel like a winner. Not even Jimmy Carter​ was so adverse to squandering leverage when dealing with friends and foes.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the international statesman of the moment. Greeted as a rock star in Egypt and other countries transformed by the Arab Spring, the Turkish Premier looms like a colossus over the Middle East. In recent weeks, he has been one of the most vocal world leaders to back the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations. Popular at home, Erdogan has held his position since 2003, and was recently re-elected to a new term. All the while, both Turkey’s economy and geopolitical footprint have been growing noticeably. Erdogan sat down with TIME’s Jim Frederick, Bobby Ghosh, Tony Karon, Matt McAllester and Ishaan Tharoor on the sidelines of U.N. meetings in New York City. The following are excerpts from the conversation, touching upon Turkey’s deteriorating relationship with Israel, the failures of the Middle East peace process, Erdogan’s support for the Arab Spring and frustrations with the U.N., and whether anybody in Ankara still cares about joining the E.U.

Mere HER i Time Magazine. Michael Rubin har en fin kritik af interviewet i The American: